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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fork — in a road
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. clip — to cut
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. spring — the season
  14. clip — a video
  15. wound — an injury
  16. staff — a stick
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. coach — a trainer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com